This invention relates generally to the art of animal containers, or kennels, and more particularly to dog kennels of a type which can be transported in beds of trucks.
A number of transportable dog kennels are currently being used for transporting dogs in beds of trucks. Some such kennels, for example, include wheel-well slots in housings thereof so that the housings can be mounted in truck beds without contacting protruding wheel wells therein. However, there are a number of deficiencies with such prior-art transportable kennels. For example, such transportable kennels are often used by hunters and hunters often take more than one dog with them. Quite often two particular dogs do not "get along" and it is therefore not convenient to transport them together. On the other hand, some dogs behave better when they are transported with particular other dogs. Most existing transportable kennels either have a single interior space or a fixed number of separated interior subspaces. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an animal kennel, particularly a transportable animal kennel, having an interior space which can be selectively divided into a plurality of interior subspaces, or left as one large space, as desired.
It has been suggested to construct an animal kennel, or container, with at least two front doors with a slot between the doors for receiving a removable partition for dividing an interior space of the kennel into two subspaces, each subspace being served by one of the doors. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,225,738 to Palencia describes such an animal cage. However, it has been found that such a slot in a front wall between two doors unduly weakens the kennel, or cage, so that such a kennel is not suitable to be often lifted into and out of a truck bed. That is, such a cage does not have adequate support so that it vibrates too much and/or is not sufficiently durable. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an animal kennel, particularly a transportable animal kennel, which can be selectively divided into a plurality of interior subspaces, or left as one space, as desired, but yet which is also quite sturdy and durable.
Yet another difficulty with prior-art kennels having removable partitions is that the partitions can inadvertently slide out of their dividing positions. This is not only a problem from the point of view of not keeping animals separated, but also can injure animals as partitions slide back and forth. Further, this can also result in the loss of slidable partitions should they slide out the backs of trucks, thus endangering vehicles driving behind. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a selectively dividable animal kennel having a removable partition, with the partition being positively and reliably locked in position so that it cannot move, but yet, if it is inadvertently not locked in position and slides out of the kennel, it will be prevented from sliding too far by a cab of the truck and, therefore, from falling from the truck bed onto the street.
Yet another difficulty with some prior-art transportable animal kennels is that they do not provide sufficient ventilation for animals housed therein and/or the ventilation they do provide is dangerous for the animals. In this regard, animals housed in small kennels often concentrate on vent openings, shoving their noses against them and often gnawing the edges thereof. In doing this, animals sometimes injure their noses and, of course, damage the kennels at the vent openings. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an animal kennel which provides sufficient ventilation with ventilation holes whose defining edges do not injure noses of animals and are difficult for the animals to gnaw.
Similarly, many such transportable kennels do not have vent ports properly positioned for creating sufficient air circulation into interior compartments thereof. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an animal kennel having vent ports positioned for creating sufficient air circulation within interior spaces of the kennel.
Some prior-art transportable kennels have top doors for accessing shallow trays at the tops of the kennels. Although the top doors and shallow trays have provided a good storage area for various items, they have not been satisfactory for storing guns, ammunition and the like, because these items have been free to move, or bounce, therein, so that they could be damaged. For this reason it is a further object of this invention to provide an animal kennel having a top door for accessing shallow trays at a top of the kennel which can be used for carrying sensitive items, such as guns, shells and the like.
A related problem is that the prior-art shallow trays, have not been practical for hauling much of the equipment which hunters often take with them. For example, such trays can usually not be used for boots and other large items of clothing. Similarly, such trays cannot be used for ice and drinks. It is desirable for hunters to have a single unit which can be used for hauling standard hunting gear so that hunters can more easily pack for a hunting trip. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a larger tray for a transportable kennel which can be accessed from a top door.
A difficulty encountered in trying to provide a larger tray to be accessed from a top door in a hunting dog kennel is that such a tray limits access to the interior space of the hunting kennel. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide such a larger tray while not unduly limiting access to the interior space of the dog kennel.
Yet another difficulty with many prior-art transportable dog kennels is that they become easily soiled and are difficult to clean. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a transportable dog kennel which does not become easily soiled and is extremely easy to clean.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a transportable dog kennel which is relatively inexpensive to construct.